


Things Left Unsaid

by araydre, Shi_Toyu



Series: Painsgiving - November 2018 [12]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Accidental Hurt, Angst, Art, Avengers Family, Avengers Feels, Bruce Banner is not a good bro, Clint Barton Is Not a Good Bro, Domestic Avengers, Emotional Hurt, Gen, Hurt, Hurt Tony Stark, Natasha Romanov is not a good bro, No character bashing, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Painsgiving, Stan Lee Cameo, Steve Rogers is not a good bro, The Avengers Are Not Good Bros, Thor is not a Good Bro, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Just Wants to Be Loved, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Needs to Use His Words, Tony Stark-centric, accidental bullying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-15 12:31:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17528783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/araydre/pseuds/araydre, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shi_Toyu/pseuds/Shi_Toyu
Summary: It's not their fault. Tony doesn't blame them. He just... wishes the other Avengers would stop touching his stuff.With art from the incredible araydre!!!





	Things Left Unsaid

**Author's Note:**

> Day 12: "Is that mine?"
> 
> Thank you, thank you, thank you SO much to araydre for the magnificent art!

Tony’s brow furrowed as he stepped out into the private portion of the parking garage to find the Audi he’d planned to take to his lunch meeting missing. He glanced around in confusion and spotted Steve just parking his bike with the other Avengers’ vehicles that Tony’d provided.

“Hey, Steve,” he greeted, the blond smiling back as he got off his bike. “You haven’t seen my red Audi, have you? I think I managed to misplace it.”

Maybe he was just being blind and Steve would point the car out on the next row over or something. If not, he’d have to ask JARVIS.

“Oh, yeah. I think Clint mentioned taking it out.”

“What? Why?”

Tony had provided a dozen different vehicles that any of the Avengers were free to use at their leisure. Why did Clint need his red Audi?

Steve just shrugged.

“He said he wanted to see how fast it could go. He figured you wouldn’t mind.”

Tony pushed down the wave of unease rising up from within his chest.

“No. No, of course not.”

He’d just take a different car to his meeting. That was fine. It wasn’t like he didn’t have plenty.

.

“Hey, J? Where’s the new armor piece I sent off for fabrication yesterday? I can’t finish these repairs until I have it.”

Delays weren’t the norm for fabrication on the armor. Tony had his own, personal fab unit.

“Apologies, Sir. I’m afraid the piece is still queued following several specs for a new device Dr. Banner is attempting to create to measure gamma particle interaction.”

Tony frowned.

“What’s Brucie doing using my fabrication machine and not the Avengers’ one?”

“It appears he has split his submitted specs between both machines to cut down on production time. Shall I halt production on Dr. Banner’s items and bump the armor piece up to first priority?”

Something in Tony’s chest twisted.

“No, of course not. The repairs can wait a day or two. It’s fine. Let’s just hope no one attacks the city, eh?”

“Always, Sir.”

.

“Tony!” Steve called in greeting as the genius stepped out onto the communal floor. There were a number of large crates spread throughout the room, most already open. Steve was elbow deep in one of them. “You’re back! How was your flight in?”

Tony pulled the tie from around his neck and threw it over the back of a chair.

“Exhausting. I always hate flights back from Japan. What’s all this?”

“Some stuff of Howard and Peggy’s that SHIELD sent over for you a couple hours ago. It’s mostly old notes and professional stuff, but I couldn’t help digging into it anyway. I hope that’s okay? I couldn’t stand having stuff that was theirs right in front of me and not  _knowing_.”

Tony’s heart gave a little lurch. The last time SHIELD had sent him crates containing things from his father, they had contained some  _very_  personal items. If some of this stuff was Aunt Peggy’s…

“No, of course not,” he said with a too-wide smile to hide the curl of trepidation he couldn’t quite suppress. “Besides, I’m just about the last person who can judge when it comes to resisting temptation.”

.

“Friend Stark!” Thor’s friendly bellow echoed through the air. “There you are!”

Tony hid a wince as he finished shaking hands with the representatives of the company SI was trying to buy out. They were a mid-level software developer, but Tony could take their designs a lot farther. At least if he could get them for the right price. The last thing he needed was an interruption before the meeting had even  _started_. He shot Pepper an apologetic look and moved to intercept Thor by the door.

“Thor,” he greeted, “what are you doing here?” The Avengers usually stayed well clear of SI’s business floors. “I thought you were still in Asgard.”

“Aye, I only just returned. However, I am afraid I may have caused some damage to the landing pad upon my return and wished to inform you immediately.”

Tony immediately felt a rush of dread.

“How much damage, exactly? Was anyone hurt?”

All he could see in his head was great chunks of metal and steel beaming falling from the sky and onto innocent passersby.

“Nothing extensive, I assure you. However, I am unsure of its current structural integrity. Hence, my haste. I didn’t think it was a thing to be left waiting.”

Tony failed to see how a  _loss of structural integrity_  did not quality was anything extensive. He needed to get a look at it himself.

“No, of course not,” he agreed. “Give me a minute here and I’ll be right up.”

He turned back to the room and, pointedly ignoring Pepper’s disapproving frown, made his apologies to the other company’s representatives. He understood her frustration. This was not going to help their position in getting a better deal at all.

As he was shaking hands with the final member of the team, an older man with snowy white hair who looked to be in his nineties at least, held fast to his hand and leaned in close.

“You’re going to have to draw a line somewhere, kiddo,” he said in an amused voice to match his crooked grin. “I hope you know that.”

Tony stared at him for a long moment before managing to pull himself back together. Was it that obvious?

“Thank you, Mr. Lee. I’ll keep that in mind.”

As he left with Thor, the older gentleman’s advice tumbled around his head. Tony knew things weren’t great as they were, that he was letting things slide that he really shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help it. The Avengers were one of the best things to ever happen to him and it wasn’t like they  _meant_  any of what they did to be hurtful. Tony had told them to make themselves at home. He could hardly blame them for doing just that.

Tony didn’t want to lose them.

.

“Is that- Is that mine?” Tony asked, staring at the beautiful emerald necklace around Natasha’s neck.

It played off her hair and skin tone just right, the strands of precious stones subtly guiding the eye toward the low dip of the front of her gown. She smiled at him as she slid across the seat and further into the limo that would take the team to the gala.

“I spotted it in your vanity closet while I was helping you apply the concealer for you bruise,” she explained, “and I just couldn’t resist. I knew  _you_  weren’t going to be wearing it, after all, and something this gorgeous is wasted as decoration. You don’t mind, do you?”

Tony swallowed roughly. How many times had he sat beside his mother while she did her make up for an event just like the one they were going to and watched her clip that very same necklace on, smoothing the stones out with her delicate fingers? How many times had she told him the story about how it had been her mother’s and that, one day, Tony would get a chance to pass it on to his own daughter?

“No, of course not,” he managed to get out through a throat that suddenly felt too-tight. “Just make sure you put it back when you’re done with it.”

 


End file.
